Inkjet printers typically have a print cartridge attached to a carriage that scans across the width of a sheet of print media in a printer. An ink reservoir, either attached to the carriage or external to the carriage, supplies ink to ejection chambers on the printhead. Each ejection chamber contains a fluid ejection element, such as a heater resistor, piezoelectric element, or an electrostatic element, which is independently addressable. Energizing an ejection element causes a droplet of marking fluid to be ejected through a nozzle, creating a dot on a print media. This pattern of dots creates graphical images or text characters on the media.
High quality resolution and printing speeds are desired of print heads. In some print heads an orifice layer, defined by a nozzle and firing chamber, is formed over the substrate prior to etching the fluid channel through the substrate. This etch process exposes the orifice layer to very aggressive etchants for prolonged periods of time and has a detrimental effect on its physical properties. Specifically, the etchant has been shown to cause brittleness of the orifice layer materials and attack the interface between the orifice layer and substrate.
Hence, there is a desire for a high performance print head and a method of manufacturing that does not expose the orifice layer to aggressive etchants for prolonged periods of time.